Light and windows are deeply intertwined with my work as a ceramicist and photographer. My porcelain hand-built sculptures blend an organic and contemporary style that takes shape using a traditional pinching technique. Each sculpture is a personal journey, paralleling events in my life at the time of making, reflected by their titles. The pieces in this exhibit arose throughout recent years of turning points. I use photography to capture the synergy of sunlight and shadow on my works, creating sculptural portraits that reveal the inner beauty of the pieces through light and moment. The effect of sunlight on the bone-white sculptures-- whether unfired or bisqued-- brings a radiance to the imagery that transforms color photography to an ethereal black-and-white realm. Before adopting this more raw approach to my imagery, I typically photographed my pieces after smoke firing, rather than before. My more recent photographic style came from an artist residency in Taos, NewMexico while living in a 100-year-old adobe casita. As sunlight streamed into a kiva fireplace that I was using for a photo studio, a new way of seeing was set in motion. The resulting collection of clayscape imagery was turned into a book, The Light in the Kiva. The window light from my own century-old farmhouse inspired this newest imagery as presented in this exhibit. Although my decades-long body of work is smoke fired, I have long-wanted to preserve the unique luminous character awakened by sunlight in my bisqued sculptures. Taos redefined my sense of what makes a finished work. This enlightened sensibility paved the way for “Light from a Window.” The four smoke fired sculptures in this exhibit and their accompanying photographs (taken before smoke firing) were created in Taos and featured in The Light in the Kiva. The other 16 bisqued sculptures and their accompanying sculptural portraits were created in St. Louis. (Six of the sculptures are located in the Guild’s window displays on Jackson Avenue.)
Opening Reception: July 21: 5-8 pm Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10 am - 6pm and Saturday 10 am - 4 pm.
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